I Never Told My Husband’s Family I Understood Spanish – Until I Heard My Mother-in-Law Say, ‘She Can’t Know the Truth Yet’

“They weren’t sure Mateo was mine.”

I felt the room tilt. Not dramatically. Just enough that I had to sit down on the bed beside him because my knees wouldn’t hold me anymore.

“Explain that to me,” I urged.

“Explain to me how your parents tested our son’s DNA without our knowledge or consent.”

Luis’s hands were shaking. “When they visited last summer, they took some hair. From Mateo’s brush.

From mine. They sent it to a lab.”

“And nobody thought to tell me this?”

“They told me at Thanksgiving,” he added. “They brought the results.

Official documents. It confirmed Mateo is my son.”

I laughed. “Oh, how generous!

They confirmed that the child I gave birth to is actually YOURS. What a relief!”

“Sandra…”

“Why?” I interrupted, standing up now because sitting felt like surrender. “Why would they even think…” I stopped.

“Because he looks like me?”

Luis nodded miserably.

“Because Mateo has light hair and blue eyes like me instead of dark features like you,” I continued, my voice rising. “So they decided I must’ve cheated? And lied?

And trapped you with someone else’s baby?”

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